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Survey Finds Australian Men Risk Being Lonely And Isolated In Retirement
Men are planning for their financial security in retirement but not for their happiness, according to a survey revealing that more women than men plan for their health and leisure interests before they stop working.

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An End To Inequalities Will Further Boost Heart Surgery Survival Rates, Says British Heart Foundation
In response to the publication of Demonstrating Quality: The Sixth National Adult Cardiac Surgical Database Report (1) which examined outcomes for adult cardiac patients British Heart Foundation (BHF) Associate Medical Director Dr Mike Knapton said:
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Appeals Court Upholds Massachusetts Law Establishing Protest-Free Zone Around Abortion Clinics
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit on Wednesday ruled that a 2007 Massachusetts law requiring antiabortion-rights protesters to stay at least 35 feet away from clinic entrances does not infringe on their free speech rights, the Boston Globe reports. The law updated a 2000 statute that established a floating buffer zone, which police and clinics said was difficult to enforce. The 2007 law set a fixed 35-foot buffer zone around any reproductive health care facility and barred anyone from entering or remaining in the zone unless they work at the clinic; are entering or leaving the facility; are public safety or other municipal officials; or are walking by. Five abortion-rights opponents filed the lawsuit in January 2008. U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro rejected their claims in August 2008, ruling that the law did not regulate speech -- only the location where the speech could occur -- and that it was drafted in response to safety and law enforcement concerns. The protesters appealed the ruling.The appeals court said that the 2007 law responded to "repeated incidents involving violence and other unduly aggressive behaviors in the vicinity of reproductive health care facilities" and "represents a permissible response by the Massachusetts Legislature to what it reasonably perceived as a significant threat to public safety." The court also said that the law was "content-neutral," as it applies to all protesters regardless of their viewpoints. According to the court, the plaintiffs argued in their appeal that the law had a "content-neutral patina" masking a "more sinister reality" that the Legislature"s true motive was to curb abortion-rights opponents" speech.Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) in a statement said that she was "pleased that the 1st Circuit has upheld this important law, which enhances public safety and access to medical facilities, while preserving the right to engage in expressive activity on public ways and sidewalks near clinics." Tim Chandler, legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which helped represent the plaintiffs, said abortion-rights opponents "shouldn"t be penalized for expressing their beliefs." He added that the fund and its supporters were evaluating the "next legal step" (Finucane, Boston Globe, 7/10).
Diagnostics

Westernization Associated With Potentially Harmful Sun Habits Among Asian Americans

Asian Americans who have adopted more aspects of Western culture may be more likely to engage in behaviors that increase sun exposure, thereby endangering their skin health, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Skin cancer typically affects individuals of Asian descent at a lower rate than white individuals, but recent data indicates the disease may be increasing in Asian populations, according to background information in the article. "In the medical literature, numerous published studies among Asians report an association between acculturation to a Western diet and increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and breast cancer. The health consequences of adopting a Western lifestyle are not likely to be limited to dietary changes alone," the authors write. "Although it is difficult to directly compare dietary changes and consequent disease with sun exposure patterns and subsequent skin disease, we mention this as an intriguing potential parallel because both involve westernization." Emily Gorell, B.A., and colleagues at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif., conducted an online survey of Asian Americans living in California from November 2007 to January 2008. Participants provided information regarding the degree to which they had acculturated along with details on sun exposure, protection and skin cancer-related habits. Of the 546 individuals (average age 34) who completed the survey, 57.3 percent identified themselves as being of Chinese or Taiwanese descent, 8.2 percent as Korean, 6 percent as Japanese and 12 percent as mixed Asian descent. Those who were more westernized-defined as those whose families had been in the United States for at least a generation, who were raised mostly or only in the United States rather than in Asia or who rated themselves as more acculturated-more often had attitudes and behaviors promoting sun exposure. For instance, these individuals were more likely to report believing a tan is attractive, having a negative attitude toward sunscreen and getting more sun exposure on the weekends. "Among more westernized Asian Americans, the practice of deliberate sunbathing was widespread," the authors write. A history of laying out in the sun was reported by 60 percent of second-generation or greater Asian Americans (vs. 47 percent of first-generation), 59.1 percent among those raised mostly or exclusively in the United States (vs. 33.7 percent for those raised mostly or exclusively in Asia) and 58 percent of those who rated themselves as bicultural or more westernized (vs. 43.6 percent of those who self-identified as more Asian). "Although it has generally been accepted as conventional wisdom that Asian cultures prize lighter skin tones and that Western cultures value a "healthy" tanned appearance, to our knowledge, our study is the first to explore what happens to attitudes and practices of sun exposure when Asians adopt Western culture. Specifically, the adoption of Western culture seems to increase sun exposure, implying negative consequences to skin health," the authors conclude. "In light of recent evidence pointing to the increasing incidence of skin cancers among Asian populations, as well as delays in diagnosis of skin cancer in part because of a lowered index of suspicion by health care providers and by Asian Americans, dermatologists and other health care providers in the United States should increase their education efforts about sun exposure, sun protection and skin cancer targeted at this growing minority group." Arch Dermatol. 2009;145[5]:552-556. Archives of Dermatology


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